The Couples’ Retreat in March…
This year the Florida United Methodist Church Couple’s Retreat will be held at the Life Enrichment Center in Fruitland Park, Florida.  Two retreats will be held on consecutive weekends: March 12-14 and March 19-21.  RUMC couples are encouraged to attend the first retreat because one of the leaders for that session will be our District Superintendent (and our former pastor), the Reverend Sharon Austin.

Additional information and registration forms may be downloaded from Florida Conference’s United Methodist Men website, www.ummflconf.org, or you can call the toll free number (877) 815-3692 for more details.

---0---
Church Workday Planned…
The Trustees are re-starting monthly Church Workdays in February.  On Saturday, February 27th, join with us to work on the Ford Youth Center.  We will be sprucing up the building inside and out.  The Youth Center could use a little TLC, and we will be cleaning the interior, painting interior walls, pressure washing, trimming hedges, making new plantings, and doing some gardening.  People with all skill levels are welcome!  We’ll start promptly at 9:00 AM.

---0---
Future Events Calender:

Thurs., 2/4--Seniors Club Meeting, Library, 2:00 PM.

Sun., 2/7--Souper Bowl of Sharing, both services.

Sun., 2/7--Organizational Meeting for Easter Pageant,
  12:15 PM, Crichton Hall.

Mon., 2/8--Church Council Meeting, Library, 7:00 PM.

Tues., 2/9--Stewardship Education Committee, Library, 7:00 PM.

Sat., 2/13--Childrens Valentines Day Field Trip, Sun City Center Towers, 10:45 AM

Sat., 2/13--Valentine's Day Banquet, 6:00 PM , Crichton Hall.

Sat., 2/27--Church Work Day.  Ford Youth Center, 9:00 AM.
Souper Bowl of Sharing…
Next Sunday, February 7th, is the Super Bowl down in Miami.  Here at RUMC, it’s the Souper Bowl of Sharing Sunday.  The youth of our church will be collecting an offering to go towards Haitian Relief.  The Souper Bowl of Sharing is a nationwide program sponsored by young people throughout all of our churches.  Look for young people and their buckets, and give generously.

---0---

Valentine’s Day Banquet…
Valentine’s Day Banquet tickets are available from the Fellowship Committee.  The event is scheduled for Friday evening, February 13th, in Crichton Hall, starting at 6:00 PM.  The dinner will be a catered affair with a cost of $7 for adults and $3 for children under 12.  Special entertainment will also be provided.  Get your tickets from your favorite Fellowship Committee member.

---0---

Good Friday Pageant…
We are organizing for our Easter Pageant that we will be staging on Good Friday, April 2nd.  We are looking for set designers, costume makers, stage hands, actors and others interested in helping with this production.  There will be an organizational meeting this Sunday, February 7th, right after the second service. Please contact Rick Phillips or Janet Forshey for more information.

---0---

Children’s News…
The kids of our church will be going on a Valentine’s Day field trip.  They will be bringing valentines to the residents of the Sun City Center Towers on Saturday, February 13th.  Amy Yost is looking for people who can donate handmade valentines for this effort.  Amy needs about 200 valentine cards to distribute.

Amy Yost is also looking for interested people to serve on her Children’s Council.  This body will be responsible for planning the children’s ministry at our church.  If you are an educator or have an interest in working with children, contact Amy.

Vacation Bible School at RUMC is scheduled for the week of July 11-16.  The exciting theme for this year’s VBS is Galactic Blast.  Kids will have so much fun, and learn so much about God, that they will be in orbit!


8002 U. S. Highway 301 South, Riverview, FL  33578  813-677-5995
Rev. Rob Atchley, Pastor

Where our mission statement is
To know Christ and to make Christ known.
If you have high-speed Internet, you can download the latest edition of the Bell in full color. 

Just right-click on the Bell Icon above, and select Save Target As... you should be able to download the document as an Adobe pdf file.   You will need an Adobe reader which you can get free off the internet, if you don't have one already.
Bible Passage for the Week

As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.”  So Philip started out, and soon he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the Queen of Ethiopia.  The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and he was now returning.  Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”

Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah.  Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?”  And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.

The passage of Scripture that he had been reading was this:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter and as a lamb before the shearers.  He did not open his mouth.  He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants?  For his life was taken from the earth.” (Isaiah 53:7-8)

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?”  So beginning with this same scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.

As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water!  Why can’t I be baptized?”  He ordered the carriage to stop and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

Acts 8:26-38
New Living Translation

Prayer Concerns








Please pray for Pat Nelson who is suffering through a variety of medical ailments.  On Saturday night, she fell in her home, hit her head, and had to go to the emergency room.  Although she is now back at home, she is still being monitored for high blood pressure.

Please pray for the family of Sgt. Daniel M. Angus, 28, of Thonotosassa, who was recently killed in Helmand Province, Afganistan.  See the Prayer Request page for information about his memorial service this weekend.
----------------------------
See the Prayer Requests webpage for a current list of the prayer concerns (and praise reports) for our extended church family and friends.

Please use the back of the Connect Card to add yourself or others to RUMC's prayer tree list.  You can also add a Prayer Tree name by calling Lucile Robinson (677-5590) or Lisa Prause (671-2297) or by filling out and submitting a Prayer Tree request from the Forms page on this website.
What's New on the Website:






  • Read about UMCOR's drive to help with the Haitian crisis on the News page.

  • Our Events Planning Calendar for the four months, January through April, is at this page.
2nd Annual Manly Man Yard Sale

The second annual Manly Man Yard Sale will be held on Saturday, April 17th.  The men have already started collecting items for the sale.  We are looking for tools, yard tools, power tools and sporting equipment. This is a chance to clean out your garage and get rid of your old tools and sporting goods.  Drop your items off at the church any day between Tuesday and Saturday.
The Book Club Explores a New Book in February…

The RUMC Book Club continues to meet at the Starbucks at the Winthrop shopping center every Saturday morning at 9:00 AM.  The book to be discussed for February is “Animal Dreams” by Barbara Kingsolver.  You can contact Connie Mosley for more details.

Information about the February selection is on the  NEWS Page.